Book Title: Lulu’s First Day (available here)
Author: Anna McQuinn
Illustrator: Rosalind Beardshaw
Publisher: Alanna Max
Publication Date: July 2019
Most Suitable For: EYFS
Reviewed By: Jo Littlewood, Year 1 Teacher
Lulu is going to pre-school for the first time. She has visited school before with Mummy, but this time she will go on her own. She’s excited, but a bit nervous. She gets dressed, packs her bag and makes sure she has her cat Dinah with her. When Lulu gets to school, she quickly settles and makes a friend with Mummy watching close by. When Mummy leaves, Lulu is nervous. Will she find the courage to head off to play again? And how will she feel when Mummy returns to pick her up?
This simple story tells of a little girl’s first day at pre-school. It tells of the preparation, the activities the pre-school session includes and the end of the day. With colourful pictures with scenes and activities that many children will recognise from their own nursery settings I am sure that young children will empathise with Lulu on her first day. The language used is accessible to young children as a group story read by an adult, with some words that will challenge and expand their vocabulary, such as ‘huge’ and ‘exhausting’, offering opportunities to talk about the meaning of new words.
As a teaching text, I would use this story at the start of the year as part of a ‘Welcome to Nursery’ unit, as children could be given opportunities to talk about any toy they use to comfort themselves (just like Dinah in the story), the things they like to do at school and how they feel about being in school without their parents.
It could also be used when a new child starts in a setting to encourage other children to think about how they might feel coming in for the first time.
Also available from the Lulu series:
Lulu Gets a Cat – available here
Lulu Loves the Library – available here
Lulu Loves Flowers – available here
Lulu Loves Stories – available here
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You can order Lulu’s First Day online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to our Review Panel member for reviewing it.
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